Enamel sugar skull hair clip with fused dichroic glass beads

My customers are constantly challenging me to think outside the box -- which I love. I'm pretty creative, but I enjoy it when others come up with a great idea for me to work with.

A friend of a friend recently commissioned me to make a Christmas gift for his daughter: a colorful enamel sugar skull barrette.

I haven't made too many accessories outside of the usual necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings, but I was eager to try. I purchased some barrettes from the drugstore and got to work.

I didn't want to make the skull too big since it's going to be worn by a little girl. I wanted it to be comfortable in her hair and to not get tangled. I made a smaller version of the sugar skulls I've made for pendants and fastened it at the end of the clip.

Her dad asked that I make the piece very colorful, so I tried to think of patterns that a girl would enjoy. I added little hearts for eyes and rainbow stripes. Not all girls are traditionally "girly," so I didn't want to go overboard in using pinks and purples.

Once the skull was attached to the barrette, there was a lot of extra room, so I added a few glass beads to complete the design. I really like how I have two kinds of glass work on the piece: the enamel and dichroic. They mix well and I really should combine them more often.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to return to my enameling class this semester, but went so I could work on this skull. I ended up making two other pendants and a pair of earrings, so it ended up being worth my time. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for the spring, but I'm not quite ready to say good-bye. I can't enamel at home because I don't have the space for a proper kiln and I would miss it if I weren't able to do it. It's just been harder to find time to squeeze in the class between my other jewelry work and musical gigs.

Anyway, I hope this girl likes her Christmas gift. I always get a little nervous when people buy my work for someone's birthday or as a special present. Hopefully, my skull will make her the best-dressed kid in her grade school. :-)

Check out the rest of my handmade jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Handmade enamel sugar skull pendants, calaveras for Day Of The Dead celebration

Once upon a time, my dad collected skulls. None were real; they were all made of plastic or plaster, but they were still creepy. One of his skulls wore headphones, another had a snake running through its eye socket .. and then there was the one hanging in our downstairs bathroom that glowed in the dark.

I thought that his preoccupation with skulls was a bit weird, but my parents then took me to Mexico. I went crazy for the crafts ... especially the colorful sugar skulls -- or calaveras -- designed to celebrate the Day Of The Dead.

Though death is a part of life, I can't say I've ever thought of the process as being beautiful. Quite frankly, the idea of dying scares the hell out of me. But I appreciate how the Mexican culture shows the beauty in death and how we always share a connection with our lost loved ones.

I'm always looking to try new things so I decided to make my own version of sugar skulls. They were so much fun to paint with the enamel! I made these last spring, but am posting them now since the Day Of The Dead is right around the corner, November 1.

I cut, filed and smoothed out the copper base at home, but painted them in class. When you fire an enamel piece, the darker colors appear first and then the lighter ones show up as the piece cools. Because of this, it took about 30 seconds for the hearts and flower pupils to appear -- and it kind of looked as if the skulls were coming to life! It was really cool.

One of the women in my class doesn't like skulls and shuddered when I showed her my work. I joked that the skull with hearts in his eyes had a crush on her and that the one crying blood was unhappy because she didn't love him back. She was not amused.

I had a blast making these, though, and appreciate the painstaking work that goes into making a true calavera. Some of the figures and masks are so elaborate and have nearly every inch of space covered with designs. Mine are pretty simple.

I do plan to make more when I'm finished with my current batch of Christmas ornaments (post on them to come). Meantime, check out my jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Also, I am now on Instagram! Follow me at Naomidoesjewelry.